The "What drives you?" motivational thread

…we have not spent the last 65 million or so years finely honing our physiology to watch Oprah. Like it or not, we are the product of a very long process of adaptation to a harsh physical existence, and the past couple centuries of comparative ease and plenty are not enough time to change our genome. We humans are at our best when our existence mirrors, or at least simulates, the one we are still genetically adapted to live. And that is the purpose of exercise.


Most of the problems with the bodies and minds of the folks occupying the current culture involve an unwillingness to do anything hard, or anything that they'd rather not do. I applaud your resolve, and I welcome you to the community of people who have decided that EASY will no longer suffice.

If you are so inflamed that you can't train, and ibuprofen and fish oil help with inflammation, maybe you'd better take the ****ing ibuprofen and fish oil.

Mark Rippetoe

But secret methodology is the province of world-class athletes; not of participants; nor of enthusiasts. Most people -- if sufficiently motivated, and if unencumbered by lame excuses that they assign to genetics -- want to know the secret that distinguishes the pros from themselves. The real "secret" of the fit, the fast and the "talented" is no secret at all; it's a much harder pill (than genetics) to swallow. And no one will accept it because of what it demands: real commitment in the form of regular, consistent, indefinite practice. And real practice demands devotion.

THE PROS TRAIN. And they train consistently and indefinitely. In other words, they commit.

People love to say that they don't train (or practice or study...) They think it makes their mediocre performance more impressive. Or they use a hero as an example, saying he or she doesn't practice either. But the truth is that anyone who becomes really world-class good at anything has devoted a large part of their lives to that thing -- often to the exclusion of all else. They may not call it "training" or "practice;" the actual labels are irrelevant. It's the time spent that counts.

"Practice" and "training" are not timelines and diet plans -- although those are effective parts of it. Real training means committing to the process: showing up at the keyboard or behind the lens or in the ring or on the rope, and doing it religiously, even when you're tired, even when you've got nothing to say, even when it's too cold, too hot, too hard.

People wish they had talent. They see it as a practice-free ticket to crowd-stunning skill. But talent doesn't exist. "Talent" doesn't get results; practice and devotion do.
Do you want to know what else seperates me from the vast majority of you? You use the excuse that i have time to train or have been doing it for years therefore giving yourself a cushion to fall your lazy ass on when i smoke you.

The people who have smoked me and humbled me (there have been many btw) lit a fire in me to not only reach thier level, but surpass it. I may never hit all my goals but at least i can go to my grave knowing that i gave my all succeding or going down in flames. All while the rest of you SIT there and confuse dedication with obsession, effort with craziness.

So, if you are going to follow me, ask yourself this. DO YOU WANT TO WIN?

What are you willing to give? What are you willing to give up? What the **** are you waiting for?


Well it's time to WAKE THE **** UP!

So do it. Wake up. When you drink the coffee tomorrow, take it black and notice it. Feel the caffeine surge through you. Don't take it for granted. Use it for something. Burn the Grisham books. Sell the bad CDs. Mariah Carey, Dave Mathews and N Sync aren't part of the soundtrack where you're going.


Burn the bridge. Nuke the foundation. Back yourself up against a wall. Have an opinion one way or the other, get off the fence and rip it up. Cut yourself off so there is no going back. Once you're committed the truth will come out. You ask about security? What you need is uncertainty. What you need is confusion; something that forces you to reinvent yourself, a whip to drive you harder.


So finish it, and walk away, forward. Only acts undertaken with commitment have meaning. Only your best effort matters. Life is a Meritocracy, with death as the auditor. Inconsistency, incompetence and lies are all cut short by that final word. Death will change you if you can't change yourself.


-Mark Twight w a little something from me thrown in the mix

 

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Modern man is conditioned to expect instant gratification but any success or triumph realized quickly, with only marginal effort is necessarily shallow. Meaningful achievement takes time, hard work, persistence, patience, proper intent and constant self-awareness. The path to such success is punctuated by failure, consolidation and renewed effort. It is wet with the tears of emotional breakdown. Personal reconstruction is art. Discovering one's self, one's talent and ambition and learning how to express it is a creative process so may not be rushed. What's the hurry? Pressure to succeed according to a particular timeline comes from outside. If the goal is selfish self-improvement there is no schedule, no deadline. One's rate of progress is influenced by the intensity used to address the task. Hard, intelligent work speeds us along the path. Neurotic obsession and compulsion may steepen the trajectory but usually lead to illness and injury. In the end, the process takes as long as it takes -- you can't push the river. We are in it for the long haul and demand the same of the athletes we train.